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SEPTEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME
SEPTEMBER 2019 TEST DRIVE MEME
Welcome to September's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: CHAOS.
All Test Drive Memes contain at least one clue to the Deerington's upcoming in-game events for the month! Keep your eyes peeled! But...not literally.
Characters may die during TDMs, but you do not need to count it towards a game-canonical death unless you want to. Consider it a freebie. All TDMs can be considered game canon as TDMs introduce minor aspects about the world of Deerington that can be revisited by characters later on in the game. You may also use TDMs for your application writing sample as well as AC.
CW: Torture (emotional and possibly physical), claustrophobia, potential weapon violence (guns, knives, spears, flamethrowers, etc.), possible body horror, emotional manipulation, emojis
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!
DICE BLOCK

But you aren't alone! With you are other unfortunate souls who hopefully weren't just looking for a quick bathroom break. Some of them might look a little worse for wear. What happened? Well, looks like you may have to ask later, because you'll only really have time to exchange names if you don't already know one another before a large screen you didn't notice was hanging from the ceiling will light up. There's a giant image of a typical six-sided game die that's completely stationary. For the moment. Shortly after, a voice will come on over the speakers, echoing in the otherwise fairly empty room. It's overly cheerful, grating, and giggles at the end of every sentence.
Would you like to hear the rules?
Okay!
Each player will take a turn rolling their die.
You can then move the number of spaces shown β but only those spaces!
You can move forward, backward, right, and left, but not diagonally!
Each space will have a symbol.
The spaces with a clover are lucky spaces! Congratulations! You'll gain some fortune, whether it's an extra turn, moving ahead more spaces, or gaining an important item you can take with you on your journey!
The spaces with the skull are unlucky spaces! Boooooo, that's too bad! You'll befall some grave misfortune here. Hopefully it won't set you back too badly! Make sure to avoid these at all costs!
The spaces with a chest are item spaces! Here you'll be able to win prizes, like medical supplies or weapons! Maybe even a small something from home! Wouldn't that be nice?
Your goal is to make it to the end alive! Good luck! And remember to have lots of fun!
The first player's name will pop up on the screen, before the die will begin to randomly blink between numbers. Eventually it will land on a number. Once the player moves forward and lands on their space, it will repeat for the second player. This will go on until one (or both players) reach the end!
When they said to make sure to not land on an unlucky space, they certainly weren't kidding. Each one seems to come with some sort of random punishment or horror; it can be as light as having to move back a few spaces or go back to the start, or as heavy as breaking a random bone or feeling a blade slice open your skin. Maybe you'll start to slowly turn into a monster or become filled with the desire to kill your opponent. Anything can happen, but it's always going to be bad.
Players who reach the end will be able to go through the door and end up back wherever it was they were intending to go in the first place. Players who lose? Well... It's back to the beginning for you. Time to wait for the next player. Better luck next time.
DANCE DANCE

Two players only, and you'll have to work together! It's a team dance and you'll want to encourage each other to stay perfectly in sync. The doors won't open until you finish, and should you mess up? Well, look up, friend!
The ceiling is covered in sharp, painful looking spikes and every time someone misses a beat or steps on the wrong arrow, the ceiling will drop down a foot. It's pretty high up there, but miss more than three arrows and you're gonna start to really feel the pressure. The spikes are looking a lot bigger and more ominous than they did when they were all the way at the top. Hopefully you've got some good rhythm.
But this is a good lesson in teamwork! Even the worst dancers might be able to get out of here okay if they've got someone who they can work together with. Maybe their perfect scores will make up for your two left feet. You can only hope you're both so lucky.
THAT'S NOT A "MEH" FACE!

The message you've gotten is pretty simple though! Each person has received a text message with one emoji inside. No rhyme or reason applied! That's... random, isn't it? You can try to text back, but no one will answer, and so you might as well just close your device and forget about it.
Every person who received a text will find that their personality starts to shift. They begin to take on some aspect that's tied to the emoji they received. Did you get a simple smiley face? You're happy and relaxed for the time being! Or maybe a silly face will lead you to become more of a prankster. An eggplant could have someone feeling like sexting a Special Someone. An angry face might get you really riled up, even towards people you love. Did you get a knife? Time to start stabbing. A gun? Those people around you look like really good target practice...
The options are endless. Each emojis effects will last for twenty-four hours or until another emoji is sent from the same user.
Character Arrival
You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.There is not a collective "all these characters showed up at the exact same moment" occurrence in Deerington. Since characters fall asleep, die, or pass out at various times throughout all their worlds, it wouldn't make too much sense if they arrived in game all at the exact same time. There should be some discrepancy between character arrival, whether by a couple minutes, hours, or even days up to a week.
The players are entirely in control of how/when they want to play their characters arriving in Deerington. For TDMs, you can play it like your character has just arrived and that can be maintained as your game canon, or you can wait until game events for that moment. Or you don't need to acknowledge it at all. The flexibility for character allows a bit more of an organic feel to the character arrival situation, so please play it to whatever feels right for you.
If you are interested in having an "arrival" introduction for one of your TDM prompts, you are more than welcome to explore that option.
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[It's an honest response, when it comes to the other toys around here. He'd been so busy just trying to keep his own neck above (sometimes literal) water, he hasn't had much thought to if the other Deerington toys are fixin' to need rescue, somehow.
At the look she gives him, he shrinks back a little.]
... It's not β It's more complicated than you know, Jessie, it's β
I didn't have much choice in the matter. This place, it doesn't follow the same rules as home! You gotta believe me, I was trying my best to stay quiet, but things spiralled outta control once the dome happened.
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[If she were honest, what drives her annoyance about this isn't about breaking the rules. Not really. She's afraid- afraid of what people will do to them if they know the truth. She's not got a whole lot of trust when it comes to humans. Andy and Bonnie made great strides in mending the parts of her that Emily and Al broke- but Andy and Bonnie are exceptions to her, not the rule.]
I just don't want to see you getting hurt because of this. Not all humans are like Andy. There's a reason we got those rules in the first place.
[She has to believe that much, at least. That they do what they do because they have to. The expression softens, concern flooding in.]
What happened at the dome? What dome?
1/2
[He says it with some reluctance, but ends it with an appeasing smile.]
And hey, you don't have to worry about me! I'll play it careful.
[Hat tipped back confidently, hand on his belt buckle, trying to look the usual mode of cool and collected. He's got it all under control! Master of his own domain! can't be any more prepared-]
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Boy, look at all that confidence draaaain away.]
It's β it's just not a good place.
[He looks particularly sure of it, eyes glancing away, brows furrowing. He doesn't want to tell Jessie about some of the things that happen here. He doesn't want to scare her and make her feel worse off. But is it wise, to try to keep the wool over her eyes? Ultimately, the answer is no. No it's not.]
This town... it's got a lotta' bad in it. Not the people, but what happens here... it's downright sinister, sometimes. You gotta avoid the children's playground right now, okay? I'd gone there to...
Well, I'd just gone there.
I ended up getting pulled into this... other place. Big and nothing but forest. They dragged a lot of people in there, but a chunk of 'em willingly went to get supplies they'd been low on. Food. But β I don't know how worth it the whole thing really was. There were hours, and every one had some new obstacle.
I ended up running into a bunch of Sleepers in danger, and I got swept into some of my own.
[He lifts his little vest, showing a sewn line there, about a fourth or so inch of a line, stitched back together with vivid yellow thread. It's not a big tear, was made from a creature's tooth, but it was enough to scare the heck out of him.]
... Promise me you won't go to the playground right now. Okay? Swear it.
[Please, this old cowboy doll saw enough danger shared between the Sleepers there.]
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But his confidence drains and the more he talks about the place, the less comfortable she is. This is worse than a dream, this is a nightmare. It's not enough to stir up the old panic in her- but then so long the problem isn't sinking into her own personal well of fears, she's not so easily rattled. But this is concerning- she's lost some of the confidence she had that they could actually handle this mess. Her eyes drop to the sewn line, it might not be big, but it's enough.]
Is that why you got hurt? You were helping them deal with... all that stuff?
[Because that sounds like a very Woody thing to do. His conscience will pretty much always win him over in the end- no matter what. Despite how irritatingly sardonic he could be, he always had a good heart. He always put everybody else before himself.
She frowns- she's a tough goddamn toy, just as capable as he is to handle danger- that was her planned retort to him. But he looks so gosh darn worried, it's enough for her to put the breaks on that. There are times to be stubborn and dig her heels in, but this is not one of those times. He carefully traces a finger over her chest. ]
Okay, Woody. I swear I won't go to the playground.
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One more than one occasion, I'm the one that got rescued.
[More confidently β more determinedly β he makes a little fist.]
That's why... I think it's important for us to all work together. There are things us toys can avoid that they can't... like lacking in food... but there are plenty of things they can handle better than us.
If we're gonna make it through this, we might have to rely on them a little, too. They're bigger, they're stronger, and they've got a whole slew of abilities we don't.
[So in a way... as much as he's worried about the humans hurting him or Buzz (and now Jessie), he also is too aware they might very well be what saves them.]
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[It's important to know, at least. That some of the humans here weren't The Worst. That they weren't just waiting to throw them in boxes and sell them. Maybe some of them would be worth revealing herself to. Maybe. ]
Sounds like they've got a real hard time of things here. Are there any kids?
[Because if they were being starved... well, that was something humans definitely couldn't survive. But the thought of kids being in this? That's something that tugs on her non-existent heartstrings. Because kids don't deserve that. Not at all.
She doesn't much relish the idea of this new life they've been thrust into. Even if he doesn't know it, she knows Woody is heading off to live his life as free-range as they can get. Lost but not lost. She's not sure if she has that in her. It took her a long time to let herself get attached to a kid again, to let every damn ounce of her love a kid again. But she has that with Bonnie. Maybe even more than she did with Andy, if she were honest with herself. She wants to be back with her kid- to watch over her and give her as much joy as she possibly can.
But Bonnie isn't here. And she's glad of that- Bonnie wouldn't be safe here at ALL. But god, if she's not sure how she's supposed to live a regular life here without Bonnie to look out for. But she doesn't reckon she's got much of a choice. ]
Okay, Woody. I'll try it your way. I still think it's crazy- but it ain't like I haven't followed you into crazier stuff before now.
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The humans, they sure did... Help him, that is. He's trying to still wrap his mind around it. Woody's a little more trusting of them than Jessie β in some part because the Davis family had always been his rock, his coupla' generations of truly good and trustworthy people.
Still. Kinda weird.
Kids are mentioned, though, and his expression wavers.]
... Depends on what you're lookin' at. There are some Sleeper kids, pulled in like us... then there are the townspeople and their kids. But they're... not normal. Or at least, I'm not so sure they're what meets the eye... [He's not really sure how to explain just how strange and unnatural they are, but he imagines Jessie'll figure it out sooner or later. In the meanwhile, he squeezes her shoulder once, his smile picking up a little more.] Oh, and there's another thing β
[Surprisingly, he walks over to the beginnings of the staircase, looking up them.
In a rather familiar gesture, he whistles through his fingers.]
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It's not very long after that a familiar horse-shaped figure comes bouncing down the stairs with dramatic energy β Bullseye whinnies, sliding across the wooden floor of the downstairs before he realizes what Woody had woken him up for. You can practically see it in the horse's eyes: Is that?! Could it be?! It is!]
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But they're still kids.
[Kids who need protecting - saving from the awful things that lurk in this awful place.
Luckily there is something that will make Jessie feel better every time without fail and that is one (1) ragdoll horse. She heard that familiar thump-thump and the worry just melts from her. Her smile widens at the sight of him, the trustiest heckin' steed. ]
Bullseye!!
[She launches herself at his horsey neck, pulling him into a hug and giving his mane a good scritching. Telling him he was a great boy, who's the best boy? HE'S the best boy.]
How did he even get here? Is he sleeping too?
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He at least can think about it all later. Bullseye's gone and saved him from letting his brain wander too far, and as Jessie and Bullseye hug, he stands with a cocked hip, looking pleased by the reunion. He'll take whatever happy moments he can get in a place like this, alright?]
I imagine he must be, same as us... the weird thing is, I woke up one day to find him napping in my blessing basket. Weird way to show up, but I guess it makes more sense than a toy in his own bed.
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She hugs the heck out of the BEST HORSE THAT EVER LIVED because this makes everything else bearable. She and Bullseye have been through some stuff together- she's so glad to have him here too. ]
Guess you've got a point. And he could have just wandered in there anyway. Could've been in a sunspot.
1/2
Where there's a sunspot, there's a Bullseye.
... It's honestly a relief to have you guys showing up like this, after those first monthsβ
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I'm just β It's β Y'know.
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I know. And I'm real glad to be around with you guys. Don't reckon this place would be half as bearable alone.
[She gives Bullseye another pat before resting her hand on a cocked hip, giving him a look. ]
'Sides, it's probably good I'm here. Someone has to keep you and Buzz outta trouble. Mostly you.
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Hey now.
[And he mirrors her pose, albeit more dramatically. Mostly to be ridiculous.]never get into trouble. I'm an upstanding citizen who minds my manners.
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Uh huh. So you're tellin' me you've been polite as anything to everyone here, and at no point said anything sarcastic or pitched a fit because someone ruffled your feathers? Not once?
[She SEES you, bro. You can't fool her. ]
1/5
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Yup. That's what I figured.
[She's going to have to go and talk to people, she just knows it. To try and convince them Woody isn't a jerk, he just sometimes lets his mouth run before his brain. He's the best, really. It's her duty as the marginally more reasonable sibling.
(She really isn't. They're as bad as each other, but she can pretend).]
Buuuuuuuut you were here by yourself and that's a good reason to be a little more ornery than usual. I guess. How many people was it?
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I'm not even sure you could go five minutes without speaking your mind, Jess.
[Pride folks are ornery and vocal, and you know it.]
... Chara's one β rude kid, careful around that one. Also some putz who calls himself 'Reaper'... and this 'Wade' guy who threw a fit at me when I said the Betties were a bunch of creeps.
1/3
Hey! That's-
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